Copeland Capital Management LLC Sells 3,083 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Copeland Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 19,893 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,083 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $17,635,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of COST. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth $50,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,787.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,015,745. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,787.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,224 shares of company stock valued at $9,974,973 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $880.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $890.07.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $886.77 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $540.23 and a 52-week high of $923.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $393.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.94, a P/E/G ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $889.73 and a 200 day moving average of $835.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden. The company offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.